Awkward
by WritingKoi
Summary: Ino and Sakura are now roommates. Everything is going pretty well. Except that Ino can’t seem to get these thoughts out of her head. While Sakura remains oblivious, Ino can’t help but feel awkward.
1. Awkward

After a bizarre conversation with friends, I had the idea to write this. (Let's hear it for crack conversations!) Not my usual fare. Mostly, it plays off of the random thoughts that could pop through people's minds.

Warning: Yuri (lesbian) thoughts and situations, but nothing too explicit.

I do not own Naruto – Masashi Kishimoto does. I just enjoy playing in his world.

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AWKWARD

"Morning!" Ino exclaimed, cheerfully leaping onto Sakura's bed. Sakura's room had a large bay window that had a queen-sized bed pushed against the wall right beneath it. Sakura had placed her pillows in an L-shape so that she could either sleep normally or lie in the light of the window, like she was doing now. Sakura was still in her pajamas, which consisted of a plain white tank top and her traditional red cotton pants. She was propped up against her pillows, reading a magazine of some kind in the sun. Ino had landed right beside her. Ino propped her head one of the long pillows on the windowsill, closed her eyes, and lay in the morning light. She was also in her pajamas, having only just woken up. Her pajamas included a daring purple camisole and yellow short shorts. Ino was certain she looked better - not that it really mattered, since it was just the two of them.

"Not for much longer." Sakura said, looking up from her medical journal and smiling. The two of them had only been roommates for a few months. Actually, it had been about seven months now, come to think about it. Adjusting to being roommates, not just friends and rivals, had taken time. Sakura had to admit that she was truly glad that she was no longer living alone. It was just too depressing. Too lonely. Furthermore, living with Ino encouraged her to have a more active social life. She would actually go out to clubs and drink now. It's not like she didn't like to go out. She had always liked dancing (not that she was particularly good) and she did enjoy having a few drinks, contrary to popular belief. Her only problem with going out was that only the much older crowd seemed to hit on her. Ino thought it was great because they would buy them expensive drinks, but it made Sakura uncomfortable.

Anyway, today was simply a day to do nothing. They both had the day off and they had cleaned their place earlier in the week, so there wasn't much left to do except relax. A free day was rare for the two kunoichi. Nevertheless, they would both probably do some light training later.

Squinting, Ino looked over at Sakura. She noticed that Sakura's top was tight and a bit low. She could actually see cleavage. That was surprising - Sakura was usually very conservative with her choice in clothes. Ino figured it corresponded with Sakura's comfort level with her body. But right now, when it was just the two of them, Sakura didn't seem to care. Her nipples were sticking out as well. It was, after all, morning. Ino thought of teasing her, but the look of serene happiness on Sakura's face made her forget about it for right now.

"What are you doing today?" Ino inquired. After seven months, Ino still hadn't put up all her posters on the wall in her room. Maybe today was the day to do it.

"Not much." Sakura looked out the window in thought. "Anything in particular you would like to do?"

"Not really. I think I'm going to just do nothing and enjoy the day."

They spent most of the day lounging around. Sakura read her medical books and Ino read her favorite gossip magazines. At about three o'clock, Sakura's stomach rumbled. Ino realized that they hadn't eaten anything all day. She laughed when her stomach rumbled too. Sakura was the first to get up.

"I'll go make us something. What do you want?" Sakura asked as she left the room.

"Curry!" Ino yelled after her. She walked back to their shared bathroom and freshened up a bit for the day.

Ino went to the kitchen and found Sakura working on spinach and mushroom omelets. "I wanted curry" She whined.

"We need something really healthy if we're not going to do anything all day." Sakura replied.

"I thought we were going to train this evening." Ino grumbled.

Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"Can we at least have cheese?" Ino pleaded.

"Fine." Sakura sighed. She reached out for a glass of water absent-mindedly and it fell to the floor. She sighed. "Can you watch the eggs for me while I clean this up?"

"Sure." Ino said. She watched Sakura bend over and start picking up the large pieces of glass on the floor. Even in her pajama pants, Sakura had a reasonably nice ass. _Where the HELL did that come from?_ Ino shook her head to remove the thought. She immediately stared straight in front of her and poked at the eggs.

After a minute, she announced, "The omelets are almost done."

"Okay, take them off the heat would you? I'm going to get some towels to soak up all the water." As she left, she said, "Be careful, I haven't got all the shards off the floor."

"Okay." Ino replied, absentmindedly. She was grateful that Sakura was leaving for a minute. Ino recalled her mother saying something about an idle mind; maybe that's why she was thinking weird things.

Sakura came back, got on her hands and knees, and started pressing the towels to the ground. Ino found herself watching. Sakura still wasn't wearing a bra, so her breasts swayed a lot while she moved. Ino turned and tried to concentrate on the eggs again.

Sakura stood up and started to leave the room. "I'm getting the broom." She said over her shoulder.

"Mmm," Ino acknowledged. She took two steps and opened up the fridge, so she could get the cheese out of the refrigerator. _What was wrong with her today?_ When she moved back to the stove, she stepped on a piece of glass. Hard. She winced. It was bleeding.

Sakura returned with the broom to find Ino staring at her bleeding foot.

"I told you to be careful. I haven't finished picking up all the glass." Sakura said, accusingly. She set the broom aside and knelt to the ground.

Ino shrugged and said "I forgot."

Sakura reached for her foot. "Let me get it out."

"I'll be fine." Ino said as she moved her foot out of reach.

"I'm a medic."

"So am I." Ino stubbornly replied.

Sakura caught her foot, used her chakra as a local anesthetic, and then healed it before Ino could even really protest. Ino was angry and jealous. Sakura used her healing chakra like she was born to it. Controlling healing chakra was so much harder to do than she made it look. Sakura had only been doing it a few months more than her, but they were miles apart.

"Thanks." She managed to mumble.

Sakura shrugged it off, like it was nothing. "Welcome."

Sakura swept up the glass and put it in the garbage. "Think you can keep yourself from getting cut again now?" She chided.

"I think I can manage." Ino said, with a smirk. She handed Sakura her plate and pointed to a new glass of water. "Think you can drink that glass of water without dropping it?"

"Watch me." Sakura took a sip and smiled. She loved their banter.

After eating, they finally got dressed. They put on workout clothes and ran the ten miles to their favorite practice grounds. Then, they sparred for about an hour before going to their separate areas to train individually. When Ino got back, Sakura had just gotten into the shower. "You better not hog all the hot water, forehead!" Ino yelled, mostly to let Sakura know she was back.

Ino went into her room, took off all her gear, and started sharpening her kunai. After a what seemed like only a few minutes, Sakura came in. She was still wet and wrapped in her pink towel. Water droplets dripped from her hair and caressed her skin. Ino wondered if Sakura had ever let a man see her like this. Suddenly, she realized that the silence had gone on too long. She desperately hoped her thoughts weren't showing on her face.

"Your turn to get clean, pig." Sakura said, interrupting Ino's thoughts and stare.

"Humph." She managed. Hopefully, she just sounded out of it. Ino fought her panic back down. _It's no big deal. It's only natural that I would notice her body at some point. She has probably noticed mine. It's fine. It's fine._

"I didn't use all the hot water, I promise." Sakura said over her shoulder as she went to get changed.

Ino hurried to the bathroom and turned on the water. She smirked. Sakura did leave her some hot water. As Ino was rubbing the shampoo into her hair, she pondered her thoughts. _I mean, I know I've had a bit of a dry spell, but _really_? I really need to get laid if I am starting to think _those_ kinds of thoughts about Sakura. _

***********

Ino returned from her latest mission satisfied. She had gone out to celebrate completing the mission the night after and had gotten the hottest guy there to take her back to his place. They had sex until she finally gave in to the exhaustion and fell asleep. She had no illusions about sex. She understood the nature of her being and simply made sure her needs were being met. Perhaps it was a result of the fact that she was pretty and popular and it was expected of her. Maybe it was because she could switch bodies she tended to think of a body as only a needy shell. She reasoned that both were probably factors.

Sakura was eating when she returned. She looked up with clear, emerald eyes and stared at her for a minute.

"Your mission was a success and you've had sex." Sakura stated. "Any good?"

"About average." Ino shrugged and sat down. Sakura was the only person who would ever get an honest answer about that from her. Although, it did irritate her to no end that Sakura always knew when she had had sex. At first, Ino had constantly tried to hide it from Sakura. Later, she would try to slip one past Sakura's senses. It never worked. Sakura always knew, so Ino had stopped trying.

"Want some?" Sakura asked, indicating the pasta.

"Sure."

Sakura stabbed some of the food from her plate and held out the fork. _She's going to feed me?_ Ino felt unsure of herself. Did she want Sakura to or not?

"Take it." Sakura said, waving the fork a bit.

Ino relaxed and grabbed it from her hands. She put the fork in her mouth. It was delicious. "Not bad."

"More on the stove if you're still hungry." Sakura said as she got up and started cleaning up the kitchen.

Ino helped herself to some more pasta and put the rest in a container for later. "Do you want some help cleaning up?"

"No, it is okay. I've got it." She said.

Was it Ino's imagination or did she sound a bit sad? She finished eating and set her dishes next to the sink. She glanced over at Sakura. It definitely looked she was trying to work something out in her mind while she cleaned. She was concerned, but let it go. Sakura was an adult. Ino took one last look at her before going back to her room to unpack. She finished unpacking and lay down on her bed. She could hear Sakura still in the kitchen.

A little bit later, Sakura came in and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong?"

Sakura just made her scoot over, so that she could lay down next to her. Like always, her back was to Ino. Sakura hated people to see her break down after Sasuke rebuked her for being weak.

"Was there another team in an accident? I told you before that you always do your best. You can't save everyone all the time."

Sakura was still silent. Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura's waist and nuzzled the back of her head. "It'll be okay."

She started lightly kissing the back of Sakura's neck. She was certain Sakura would get embarrassed, turn around, and smack her. Then they would yell about it for awhile and Sakura would storm off. It would be worth it because it would distract her from her worries. Something like that almost always worked.

Sakura sat upright and turned towards her. Ino closed her eyes and braced for the punch that she knew was coming. There was a long pause. Then, she felt Sakura's lips on hers and opened her eyes in surprise. She could see the trail the tears had taken on Sakura's face and couldn't bring herself to pull away. The kiss became more needy and Ino closed her eyes and relaxed into her bed. This wasn't like Sakura. _What had happened?_ Sakura's hands were braced on either side of Ino's body. Sakura relaxed her arms, so that the full weight of her body was on Ino. She was fairly light. It was not what she had expected from one of the strongest kunoichi alive. Sakura used her right hand to trace the side of Ino's face. Her hand kept moving further down to her neck and then lightly traced her collar bone. It lingered between her breasts as Sakura broke the kiss. _Should she say something to try and stop this? Did she want to?_ Sakura's hand moved down her stomach and paused when it reached her shorts. She lifted the fabric a little and …

Ino woke up. _Fuck._

Light from the sun was just started to leak in through her windows. Tenatively, she got out of bed and opened her door. She peeked down the hall at Sakura's door. She always left it open whenever she left for the day and had it closed while she was asleep. A leftover fear from some traumatic event that happened while she was sleeping. Luckily, it was open and Sakura was already gone. She had early morning training with Tsunade. Ino breathed a sigh of relief.

That evening, while they were having dinner together, Sakura caught Ino staring at her.

"I will not go out with you." Sakura deadpanned, expecting their usual banter.

Ino was startled. She was thinking of the dream and was taken aback by how close Sakura had gotten to her thoughts. Trying to play it off, she laughed. Although even to her ears, the laughter sounded false. She desperately tried to think of something to change the subject.

"Do you even date?" Ino boldly asked, knowing this was a sore subject with Sakura.

"WHAT?!" Sakura exclaimed, her face red with embarrassment.

"I think it's a legitimate question. I haven't seen you go on a single date since we've lived together." Ino said, as calmly as she could. Although it was true and Ino had always wondered, she was glad to have successfully changed the subject.

"I'm just having a particularly dateless period in my life."

"Mmhmm." That noise, coupled with a look of disbelief said it all.

"Shut up." Sakura stormed out of the room.

* * *

I'd love to hear what people think. I had fun wriiting it.


	2. Realization

Sorry it took awhile, but here's CHAPTER 2!

I do not own Naruto – Masashi Kishimoto does. I just enjoy playing in his world.

Reviews appreciated.

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REALIZATION

Sakura had quietly avoided Ino for most of the next day for raising the taboo topic of her love life. Nevertheless, Ino was pretty sure that Sakura would give in when it was time to eat dinner. Ino knew she hated eating alone, so had simply shown up in time for dinner and sat down. Sakura set a plate down on the table in front of herself. Ino noticed that there was an extra plate on the counter next to the stove. Ino thought it was a good sign. Ino served herself and then sat down at the table across from Sakura. On the other hand, Sakura still refused to look at Ino while she was eating.

"Nice day today." Ino commented.

A long, uncomfortable pause seemed to stretch out forever.

"Mnm." Sakura mumbled, without looking up from her food.

That one sound let Ino know that everything was going to be just fine. If Sakura was truly angry, she would have unconditionally ignored anything Ino said or did. Ino relaxed, picked up her silverware, and began to eat. Besides, Sakura had never stayed mad at her for more than a few days at the most.

A few minutes of uncomfortable silence later, Ino gave in. "I'm sorry I brought it up." She said, quietly.

After a flash of anger crossed her face, Sakura stared at Ino for a moment. Then, she looked down at her food. She started to pick at her plate for a few moments and sighed. "It was the truth." She said, with resignation. "It was just hard to hear it said aloud. I'm sorry I over-reacted."

"Meh. I was being an ass because I was having…" [_Dreams where you tried to have sex with me. Yeah, that'll go over well.]_ "…well, an off day." Ino managed, after an awkward pause.

Sakura lifted her head up from her plate to look at Ino's face. She arched an eyebrow at the vague response. When Ino then avoided eye contact and refused to go into further detail, Sakura resigned herself to accept that explanation. Although she wondered what Ino was not saying. The omission seemed unnatural. Ino usually told her everything.

Sakura does get angry often, but it usually passes fairly quickly. She once confided to Ino once, when she was quite drunk, that she just didn't have the energy to be mad at someone for very long. She shrugged and claimed that all the little things you were supposed to do, such as glares and snide comments, just took too much effort for her to maintain for an extended period. She had told Ino that she simply had more important things that needed her attention.

Ino had believed her explanation. She knew first hand that alcohol was like truth serum to Sakura. On the other hand, it wasn't often that Sakura let herself get drunk. Because of her medical skills, Sakura could increase her metabolic rate so that she could out-drink just about anyone - even alcoholics. Ever since Sakura drank Kakashi under the table at Kairu, no one doubted that she could hold her liquor. Kakashi definitely got screwed on that bet. Although, to be honest, she was surprised he held up his end. He never did with Gai-sensei's challenges. Ino laughed internally.

"What?" Sakura asked, noticing Ino's mirthful smile.

"Just remembering when Kakashi lost your bet."

Sakura smirked. "He has surprisingly nice legs. Although, in hind sight, I should have gotten him to take off the mask for a week."

Sakura returned to eating her food, lost in her own thoughts. Ino also ate a few more bites and returned to her thoughts.

Ino thought that it showed good sportsmanship that Sakura had appeared extremely drunk at the end, so that Kakashi wouldn't feel bad for losing. Then again, maybe she was the only one who noticed that Sakura wasn't really drunk. It was unfortunate for him that he just hadn't realized how far her medical training went. The only problem was that there was now an unspoken rule that Sakura was no longer included in drinking games. That coupled with three unusually lucky bouts when she gambled led to a new unspoken rule in town: unlike her mentor, never bet against Sakura.

Ino had honestly only seen Sakura drunk a handful of times. Sakura only let herself get drunk in the safety of the house of a friend. Ino was pretty sure it was because she just didn't want to be seen while she was not in control of herself. She had once asked Sakura, while they were both inebriated, if she liked alcohol. Sakura said that she liked the dissociation alcohol gave her. She said that she liked that her worries and the guilt of the things she had done, things that plagued her mind, would disappear and she would be left with only a clear view of the now. She didn't think or hesitate, she just existed. In some ways, she drunkenly speculated, she was the truest version of herself. She said she understood how Lee could be a better fighter that way.

Ino looked over at Sakura. [_She thinks too much even when she's drunk_.]

When Sakura made eye contact, Ino said. "Hey, did you hear…" After she told Sakura about the recent rumors regarding Kiba and Tenten, they continued their dinner in comfortable silence.

Everything was back to normal again.

Mostly.

**********

Later that week, the two of them were sitting outside Ino's favorite crepe shop. They were enjoying a peaceful Friday night. The sun had just set, so it was still a bit warm. There was a slight breeze made things practically perfect. In the silence, Ino's mind began to wander as she watched people walk past. She often tried to guess what kind of people they were and where they were going. After she watched a few couples go by, she found herself wondering if people thought of Sakura and her as a couple. They always did things together and neither had been on a date in months. There was even a picture of the two of them in the "Life" section of paper with the two Inuzuka pups they had taken care of for a few days, while the rest of the Inuzukas were out on missions. Sakura didn't seem to notice. She didn't seem self-conscious about it at all. She even sometimes joked about it. It seemed clear to Ino that she really thought of them as just friends. She wasn't sure whether she was upset or relieved. Maybe a little of both?

Ino glanced over at Sakura. Her pink hair was moving slightly in the wind and her emerald eyes sparkled in the waning sunlight. She was staring off into the distance with a pensive look on her face. Her forehead began to get those deep creases in it that indicated Sakura was deep in thought. Ino wondered what she was thinking about.

Sakura apparently felt Ino staring at her and turned to look at her. "What?"

"Nothing, really. I was just wondering what you were thinking about. You looked so serious."

"I was watching all of the couples going by and thinking." She said, looking away.

Ino's heart beat a little faster. Were they thinking the same things?

"I guess I just felt a bit lonely watching all the couples walk by. Then, I remembered that you are here with me."

Ino's heart soared.

"I guess I'm just glad we're both hopeless." She said, with a sad smile.

"Heh, yeah…" Ino said, halfheartedly. Her heart sank. They were thinking along the same lines, but not the same thing.

Then, she realized. She had told herself that her growing fondness for Sakura was just a result of getting to be better friends. The recent sexual thoughts about Sakura were some kind of an aberration. That was what she told herself, but it was all lies. She had been in denial. Those thoughts, those reactions were the exact kind of thing she did when she liked a guy.

Ino realized that she had somehow fallen in love with Sakura Haruno.

This was unexpected. She had always thought of herself as straight. She had only had feelings for men before. Well, she did have sex with a woman once, but mostly just to see what it was like. Other than that, she had only favored men. Did that mean she was bisexual? Or was she just gay for Sakura? Or was she always in denial? She tried to take a mental step back so she could think.

She realized Sakura was waving her hand in front of her face.

Seeing Ino focus on her face, Sakura said, "Are you okay? You kind of spaced out there on me for awhile."

"Yeah, fine." She replied, stiltedly. "It's going to be dark soon, let's go home."

As they walked down the street, Ino once again became lost in her thoughts. She was not one who was bothered by what other people thought of her. But, what did she think of herself? She wasn't really sure. The one person she knew who admitted to being bisexual in the village was addicted to sex. This wasn't about sex.

Okay, it was about sex. Otherwise, it would just be feelings of friendship. For instance, Ino couldn't wait to taste their first kiss. She also wanted to hear Sakura moan her name with need and urgency. The more she thought about it, the more she came to terms with it. Her feelings for Sakura were real and they were not friendship-love, they were definitely romantic-love. On the other hand, Ino had to admit that she was enamored with Sakura's strong mind and her kind soul. She had marveled at how Sakura had managed to expel Ino from her mind. No one had ever done that before, as far as she knew. The elders had said that it was because Ino had not yet perfected the jutsu, but Ino knew better. She was one of the youngest in the clan's history to master the Mind/Body Switch Technique.

Not one to take too long to make a decision, Ino reached her conclusion. Love is love. When you truly love someone, you try to see them as they want to be seen but accept them for their true self. It didn't really matter to her that the shell Sakura's spirit happened to inhabit was female. In fact, she liked it. However, would Sakura care that she was female? Ino supposed she could always swap out of her body and into a man's body for a few hours, if Sakura preferred. On the other hand, even though it made her hypocritical, she wanted Sakura to love her body too. It was her favorite shell to inhabit and she tried to take really good care of it. It just seemed to fit her best.

Sakura noticed that Ino was being unusually quiet. [_What was wrong with Ino today?] _When she would steal glances over at her, a lot of emotions danced across Ino's face as they walked. What could she be thinking about? She thought about asking, but decided against it. She would let Ino try to figure it out on her own. Ino was an adult, she could handle her own problems. Ino knew Sakura would always be there for her, if she needed anything.

Ino caught Sakura stealing a glance at her on the way home. [_Should I dare to hope that Sakura felt the same? Even if she did, should they try having a relationship and see what happens? What if it didn't work out?]_ Ino began to have second thoughts. She would hate to lose her best friend. Then, she realized the huge number of problems facing her. How did you ask another woman out on a date? How could you tell if she liked you and didn't just want to be friends? Whenever she liked a guy, she knew exactly how to get noticed. She also knew exactly how to tell if they liked her. A look or a touch said it all. How do you impress someone who has already seen you naked and in most of your underwear? Ino was aware that she had "boundary issues" as Sakura called it. [_I have no idea what to do. I'm going to have to ask someone about it…But, who?]_

Ino suddenly thought of someone who she could ask, someone who knew Sakura well and could keep Ino's secret.

She shuddered when she thought how much it might cost.

**********

Tsunade was fairly certain that Sakura needed to get laid. Tsunade didn't really care who. All right, she did. Because it couldn't just be anyone. They had to be worthy of her favorite and most-talented apprentice. Regardless, the problem was convincing Sakura that she needed the physical release before she drove Tsunade crazy. Sakura was such a workaholic. She thought that Sakura really needed someone who could help her open up and just live life. Someone who could help her be okay with just existing. On the other hand, none of the men that she could think of were right for Sakura. While she was thinking about it, Sakura's annoying blonde roommate barged into her office.

"Yes, Ino?"

Ino marched up to her desk, looked her in the eye, and stared. After the loud entry, she was surprisingly quiet. Tsunade had expected some kind of outburst or demand.

"Tsunade-sama…" Ino began, with unusual shyness. She looked down and began to fidget.

Tsunade almost had a heart attack. Ino never called her that. It was always Tsunade-shishou or Tsunade-sensei. [_What could she want? What was with that look? Oh, crap. I thought Ino liked men. Was I mistaken, did Ino like women? I've seen that kind of look before. There have been a few girls over the years that have given me that look. It was the look of someone who was going to confess their undying love. Ino was a promising student, she would hate to have this interfere with her training. They desparately needed more medic-nin in the village. Why do things like this always happen to me?] _She thought, with chagrin. She cursed her large breasts.

"Tsunade-sama, can you keep a secret?" Ino said, quietly, looking down.

"Certainly. What's this about?" [_That's a little different._ _Maybe it's something else. Maybe I'm wrong. Please let me be wrong, please let it be something else.]_

"I'm…I'm pretty sure that…well, that I'm in love with Sakura." Ino said.

Tsunade froze in complete shock. Then, a wave of relief washed over her. Her mind chanted:_ [It wasn't me. Not me. It wasn't me.]_

"Oh." Tsunade exhaled the breath she had been holding in.

Ino snapped out of her nervousness. "What the hell do you mean, 'Oh'?! This is a HUGE deal. She's my best friend and roommate and-"

Ino broke off as Tsunade started laughing. Uncontrollably. She tried to stop, but couldn't.

"I thought…" She laughed some more. She could barely breathe.

"What?" Ino demanded, getting angrier by the second.

"I thought…I thought you were going to confess to me." Tsunade managed, before another laugh attack hit her.

Ino thought about it a second and then started to laugh as well. This was definitely not the serious discussion Ino had planned. Although, she was glad that it wasn't as uncomfortable as she had imagined.

When Tsunade had regained her composure a bit, she simply asked, "So?"

"What do I do about it? You know her best. What do you think?"

Tsunade was serious for a minute. She put her elbows on her desk and interlaced her fingers. Then, she closed her eyes and rested her head on her hands. After what seemed like forever to Ino, she looked up.

"I don't know. I think you are probably the only one who could make Sakura consider something so unconventional. To be honest, I seriously doubt Sakura even thinks about sex very much, except in a clinical sense." Tsunade began. "However, subtle methods probably won't get her attention. You'll need to do something obvious but sneaky at the same time."

Ino had already figured that Sakura probably wouldn't get any subtle signals. She was about to ask what she should do, when Tsunade stood up. "Well, go figure out a way to kiss Sakura. That's always the first step, right?"

Ino had no idea how she was going to do that without potentially losing Sakura as her best friend. "But, how do I…without, you know…" Ino trailed off.

"Not my problem. I'm sure you can figure something out."

"But, Sakura…" Ino started to whine.

"I don't want to hear excuses. Dismissed."

Ino quickly turned an started to leave.

"Oh, and Ino." Tsunade said, as she reached the door. She didn't look up from the paperwork on her desk, but her face held a mischievous grin. "The biggest bottle you can find of junmai daiginjo-shu sake, any brand, will ensure my silence."

Ino had been afraid of that.

Although, to be honest, it was nothing compared to what she had been willing to pay. But, she wasn't going to tell Tsunade that.

*********

"Let's go out tonight!" Ino exclaimed.

"I don't know, I've got -" Sakura tried to protest.

"Please! We haven't been out in ages and I just got paid for my last mission!" Ino pleaded. She gave Sakura a look of pure desperation.

Sakura had a hard time saying no to Ino when she used that face. She gave a long exhale. "Okay, okay. I'll go get changed. Where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking we could go to the new place that just opened up next to Chouji's favorite yakiniku place. It looked kind of nice and I heard they have good drinks."

Sakura realized that she really hadn't been out in awhile. She got on her favorite red dress and some new high heels Ino had made her buy the last time they went shopping.

"Hey!" Ino called, from her room down the hall. "Can you help me zip this up?"

"Certainly." Sakura said as she went into Ino's room. She stopped at the door when she saw Ino in a simply stunning navy blue cocktail dress. It was tight in all the right places and had a generous slit up the left side. "You look amazing."

"Only for you, darling." Ino half-teased. "Now, help me with the zipper." Ino turned around and pointed.

As Sakura finished zipping her into the dress, she noticed that Ino had on one of her scandalous bras. [_Why she so dressed up? I guess it has been awhile since we've been out._] Once Ino put on her heels, they were off to the restaurant.

When they got to the restaurant, Sakura asked for a table for two. As the hostess was seating them, she kept looking back at them. Sakura ignored it. Ino could swear that she was giving them funny looks, but decided that she wouldn't let it ruin her night. The hostess led them to a four person table. Sakura sat down on the far side of the table.

Ino smirked and teased, "Do you want me to sit with you."

Sakura grew flustered. "No! Sit on your own side."

Ino thought Sakura was cute when she was flustered. She did as Sakura asked and sat across the table from her.

The two of them decided to get the restaurant's special tropical drink with their dinner. When it arrived, instead of being in two large glasses, it arrived in one large bowl with two straws.

Sakura didn't seem bothered. As she pulled the drink a bit closer to herself, it sloshed a bit.

"You know, it would be easier to drink if we were sitting on the same side." Ino commented.

Sakura gave her the 'you-are-crazy' look. "That's true, but it is much easier to have a normal conversation this way."

She leaned in, closed her eyes, and took a sip from one of the straws. From where she was sitting, Ino could almost see her bra. She thought it was one of Sakura's few nice push-up bras. Scandalous for Sakura. Interesting.

"I think our date is going well." Sakura said, smiling up at her.

Ino swallowed, hard. Did she see Ino checking her out? She tried to deflect. She leaned back into her chair, crossed her legs, and looked straight at Sakura. Then, she said, with a straight face, "I don't know, I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to put out for you or not tonight."

The waiter had just arrived to take their order. He stood there awkwardly. Sakura's eyes were wide open in shock and her jaw had dropped. She had also turned a shade of red so bright that Ino didn't think there was a name for it yet.

"We're going to have the special tonight." Ino said, looking up at the guy. His eyes were unfocused and he was slightly blushing. If he knows who they are, it might become a juicy rumor later. [_Should I squash it or let it circulate awhile? I think I'll let it circulate. It might be fun to see Sakura totally embarrassed._]He nodded at her, then scurried off.

After he left, Sakura's surprise wore off and her normal color returned. She rolled her eyes and laughed a little. "You enjoy doing that to me, don't you?"

"Yes." Ino laughed and Sakura joined in.

When the waiter came back with their food, Ino ordered them more drinks. The night was going well. The plan was to be in a position to kiss Sakura by the end of the night. Ino was still a little nervous about kissing Sakura, so the alcohol helped with her jitters.

Unfortunately, by the end of the night, Ino had wound up drinking a little more than she had planned. The one benefit of being drunk was that she could grope Sakura as she leaned on her during their walk home. If Sakura hadn't been there, she would have fallen flat on her face – twice. Chunks of time started slipping from her mind. She didn't know how they got home so fast. She was mostly focused on her breathing, which she tried to make as deep as possible. As if she could breathe out the alcohol in her system. She was going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow.

Sakura regretted putting on the high heels, when she practically had to carry Ino home. As soon as she got in the door, she set Ino in a kitchen chair and tried to take off the now excruciatingly painful shoes. Upon removing the shoes, she threw them into the corner with a secret vow to never wear them again. Although, she secretly suspected that that was what Ino had wanted all along when she convinced Sakura to buy them. Sometimes she hated it that they had the same sized feet. When she looked up, she saw Ino standing in the kitchen with another drink in her hand. She quickly moved across the cool wood floor in her bare feet and removed the drink from Ino's hand.

"Come on!" Ino said. (Well, Sakura knew that it was what Ino meant to say.)

"It's okay. I'll drink it, all right?" That usually appeased her.

"Chug it!" Ino exclaimed.

Sakura shushed her and then shrugged. Give the audience what it wanted. They were home now anyway. The reason she didn't drink much out in public was not because she hated people to see her when she wasn't quite in control of herself like so many people believed. It actually was because she like to be the one to make sure everyone, especially Ino, got home okay.

Ino smiled as Sakura downed the whole glass.

"Do you feel okay? I could…" Sakura began.

"No, no. M'okay. Need bed."

As the two of them stumbled down the hallway towards Ino's room, they fell against one of the walls. Sakura was the one against the wall and Ino was facing her. She was braced against Sakura's body. Their faces were close. Ino realized that this was her opportunity to put her plan into action. She leaned in to kiss Sakura, but was having trouble focusing. Maybe she had overdone it a bit. She tried to focus on Sakura's lips as the world spun. She felt their lips touch as the world went black.

Ino had collapsed into Sakura's arms.

Sakura blinked once in surprise and looked down at Ino, who was now helpless in her arms. She let out an exasperated sigh and dragged Ino to her bed. After she checked Ino's vitals, she decided to remove most of the residual alcohol in Ino's body. If Sakura didn't do something now, Ino would be unbearable tomorrow. However, Ino hated it when Sakura used her medical jutsu for something so ordinary as removing a hangover. Thus, Sakura just had to remove enough of the alcohol that Ino wouldn't be too ill. Sakura had almost perfected managing Ino's hangovers. Sometimes she wondered if Ino knew how much she had helped Sakura improve as a medic by being her guinea pig. When she thought of how angry Ino might get, she thought maybe it was better that Ino didn't know.

[_There. That should do it._] Ino might have a bit of a headache in the morning, but she wouldn't vomit. Sakura hated the sound of someone vomiting.

Sakura knew she should leave Ino to sleep, but couldn't quite bring herself to leave. She found herself staring at Ino's sleeping face. She really wanted to finish the kiss that Ino had started earlier. It's too bad Ino had been confused and drunk. Sakura leaned over and pulled Ino's purple sheets up. While she was leaning over Ino, she found herself staring at Ino's lips. She briefly had the selfish thought of stealing a kiss while she could, but decided that that would be unfair to them both. On the other hand, Sakura had practically given up hope that Ino would ever think of them as more than just friends. Maybe she should…No, no. She wanted a real kiss, anyway. [_You know, one where Ino's actually conscious._]She settled for kissing the top of Ino's forehead.

Then, Sakura left for her own bed.

* * *

**Author's Note**: My roommate, a good friend of mine, enjoys seeing me flustered and lives for awkward moments. Thus, the restaurant scene is half fiction and half real life. It is my little homage to her for making my life interesting.


End file.
